The Long Goodbye Take Two
by PlasmicFemale
Summary: An alternate version of ‘The Long Goodbye’. Just changed a few small things. . .


Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, don't sue me.  
  
Spoilers: Very much so, if you haven't seen 'My Noon, My Midnight' or 'The Long Goodbye'.  
  
A/N: An alternate version of 'The Long Goodbye'. Just changing small things. . .like the fact that only Tess could see Claire.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Tess glanced at herself in the mirror. She flattened down the dark dress, trying to wipe out a sole crease. She breathed in deeply, as tears threatened to flow once again. She fought hard to prevent them, and slipped on her shoes. Then hurriedly, she opened the door, to reveal Nick waiting for her behind it, then walked past him, downstairs, to where they were waiting for her.  
  
"Ready to go?" Meg asked softly, handing Charlotte to her. Tess gave her a weak smile.  
  
"Hey Bom. . ." She muttered, holding the baby girl close.  
  
As the procession made its way down the long driveway, Tess clutched onto Charlotte tightly. She clenched onto fistfuls of the blanket, trying to fend away the tears that were longing to fall. She hurried her steps. She stood alone when they reached the site, pulling herself away from everyone else. She didn't want to be here. She couldn't do this. How could she possibly say goodbye to the only sister she ever had?  
  
* * * * *  
  
Alex gripped the reins tightly, urging the horse to go fast. He stopped abruptly, the white brumby visible just metres away. Silently, he pulled the gun from beside it. He cocked it, and held it firmly in front of him. Any more pressure on his finger and it would go off. He started to push down - but stopped. Two other horses had appeared from behind the trees, heading towards the lone brumby. Alex lowered his gun and watched as they ran together from his sight. He returned the gun to its holster, and took in a deep, shaky breath. The tears he had been fighting for so long fell, and he lowered his head as the sobs wracked his body.  
  
"The mighty Alex Ryan. I wouldn't have thought it. . ." Alex looked up, tears blurring his vision, but he could still make out the unmistakeable form of Claire standing in front of him. A breath caught in his throat.  
  
"Claire?" He asked, barely audible. Claire tilted her head, amused.  
  
"Can't you recognise me?" She questioned with a smile.  
  
"I. . .how?" He asked, slipping off the horse while not taking his eyes off her.  
  
"Doesn't matter." Claire said simply. "The question is 'why?'" Alex hesitated.  
  
"Why?" He asked finally. Claire smiled.  
  
"You know why." She said. Alex shook his head.  
  
"No. I can't let go, not now." He said firmly.  
  
"But you can, Alex." Claire said. "You know you can."  
  
"No." Alex said, not backing down. "How can I possibly go on without you?"  
  
"You have to be strong. . .for Charlotte. She needs a father, and I want you to be him." She smiled. "Teach her to ride properly. . .like a Ryan. You can do it, you always find a way."  
  
"Not this time. . .I can't do it. . ." Alex said softly.  
  
"Yes, you can." Claire reiterated. "I'll always be with you, don't forget."  
  
"I could never forget." Alex said, finally giving her a vague smile. "I'll always love you."  
  
"And I'll always love you. . ." Claire whispered. And then she was gone, leaving Alex standing silently beside his horse. He breathed in deeply, as Stevie's words came back to him.  
  
'You have to say goodbye, Alex. Sometimes you don't get a second chance to put things right. . .'  
  
Alex climbed back onto the horse, and turned around. He grabbed the reins, and with no hesitation, rode off in the direction of Drover's Run.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When Tess saw Alex, she felt relief. Relief that she wasn't alone in this at all - that there was someone who was finding this just as hard as she was. She watched as he took his place beside the coffin, opposite Nick, and helped carry it towards the burial site.  
  
It wasn't much later when Meg had finished speaking and Tess was standing in her place, that she felt like running again. Away from all of it. But she didn't. . .she couldn't.  
  
"Thank you all for coming here today." She began shakily. "Claire would be--" She stopped, the emotions unbearable, "Ah. . .Claire would be. . ." She tried again. Suddenly she found herself reliving it all again. All the times she'd had with Claire: Their first meeting, all the fun, the fear. . .the tears. Abruptly the flashes ended, and she found herself standing on the cliff that had stolen her sisters life. Claire stood before her.  
  
"Why?" The question that was haunting her.  
  
"There is no reason, you just have to accept it." Claire said gently.  
  
"But what am I gonna do without you?" Tess asked.  
  
"You'll have all your friends, the people who love you. They'll always be there." Claire said. Tess took in a quick breath.  
  
"You won't." She said finally.  
  
"You've gotta be strong." Claire began. "For Charlotte. For Alex. For Drover's." She paused. "You've come a long way since you first arrived with that coffee machine afraid of big animals. You can do this." Claire stopped for a moment. "So what do you say, can I go now?" She asked. "Please?"  
  
Then almost as quickly as she had left, she was back at the funeral. She glanced at all the people waiting for her. She took in a deep, shaky breath, and began.  
  
"When I first came here to Drover's Run, I thought I was c-coming to claim my inheritance." Tess started. "I didn't realise it at the time. . .but the best part of that inheritance was finding my sister." She found it impossible to prevent the tears, but continued never the less. "And for the first time in my life, I felt like I truly belonged somewhere." The tears wracked her body. "I don't know how I'm going to manage without Claire, and sometimes it feels safer just to. . .to run away from it all and try and pretend that none of it ever happened." She admitted. "But I know what Claire would say to me. She would say, 'You be strong now Tess. It's time to move forward.'" The unmistakeable figure of Claire stepped forward in the distance as Tess spoke. "-and it's time to be with the people that you love, here on Drover's Run." Tess glanced at the image of her sister. As she did so, Alex was the only one who noticed that she was actually focussing on something. He turned his head, and almost unsurprisingly, saw Claire. She tilted her hat slightly, acknowledging them both. Tess stepped forward. "Goodbye Claire." Both Tess and Alex watched at Claire turned, and walked away, eventually disappearing into the country air. "May you rest in Peace." Tess finished. Alex turned to face her, and their eyes met. In that moment, they knew they had shared something extraordinary. Tess couldn't stop the flow of tears that had fought so hard to escape. Alex stepped forward and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. He walked past her and knelt beside Claire's coffin.  
  
"Bye. . ." He muttered. "I love you." A lone tear fell down his cheek. He placed the engagement ring on her hat, which was placed gently on the coffin, before standing. Then, with only the memories of her with him, he helped to lower the coffin into the ground. And to say goodbye to his one, true love.  
  
* * * * *  
  
One year later. . .  
  
"Hold on, now. . ." Alex said, holding onto Charlotte more than he was gripping onto the reins. He slowly rode around in the circle, as Charlotte let out a cry of surprise, then laughter. Tess smiled as she watched from a distance. Two hands snaked around her waist. Her smile grew wider, but she didn't turn around.  
  
"He's great with her." Nick said softly.  
  
"Yeah, he is." Tess replied softly. She paused. "Claire would have been pleased."  
  
"She probably is. . .somewhere." Nick replied. Tess smiled.  
  
"Yeah. . .somewhere." She watched Charlotte throw up her hands in delight, as Alex held tightly onto her. The resemblance between her and Claire was already visible, and sometimes Tess could even spot traces of Claire's original personality in the small child. It was then that Tess realised that Claire would never be truly gone. She'd always be alive. In Charlotte. In Alex. In her. Always.  
  
* * * * *  
  
My own rendition of the episode. I just didn't like how Alex never got to say goodbye to Claire. It wasn't much of a change. . .you probably noticed how most of it was straight from the episode, I just changed a few small things. Hope it was alright. Review and give me your thoughts. Flames are welcome. 


End file.
